UN World Data Forum

From 19th – 21st October Restless Development will be supporting young people from our networks in India, Madagascar and Uganda to participate in the first ever virtual UN World Data Forum

Meet our youth participants.

This Forum brings together data and statistical experts and users from all sectors including governments, civil society, the private sector, media, and academia, to explore data innovation, mobilise high-level political and financial support for data, and build a pathway to better data to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Young people will demonstrate that they have the power to lead development in their communities – by using technology to monitor development programmes and track progress, and then holding development actors accountable for the delivery and impact of these programmes. Young people will be taking the lead at our two co-organised events:

  • CitizEMPOWER: Sharing practical citizen-led data tools and catalyzing partnerships with official data communities to respond to Covid-19 (Wednesday October 21, 7am – 8:15am UTC)
  • The Deep Data Power Shift (Wednesday October 21, 8:30am – 9:45am UTC)

At these events youth participants will be challenging the way data and statistical experts work with young people and communities, demonstrating the power of youth-generated data and the importance of accountability.

Read our “Recommendations for supporting inclusive citizen-generated data initiatives”

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Meet our youth participants

Shagun Sharma

Shagun has been working as Youth Accountability Advocate with Restless Development focusing on redressal services for women who face gender-based violence and accessibility of sexual and  reproductive health services in an urban slum in Delhi, India. Shagun is using evidence-based research to advocate for key policies to address the urgent needs of these women and young people in her community. She has been leading a team of young advocates in the community to conduct research and coordinate grassroots activities, including building a network of stakeholders locally to advocate with her for the rights of young women and girls.  

Britah Atusimiire

I am super excited to be part of this team.

Britah

Britah is a team leader for the Civil Society Unleashed Project in Uganda. Together with other young volunteers in her community, Britah monitors programmes and speaks to community members about what they think, using her phone and the DevelopmentCheck phone application created by Integrity Action to record improvements that could be made. Britah then takes these suggestions back to development organisations and works with them to fix problems. In addition to her work with the Development Alternative, during the lockdown Britah started an organisation called Kusiima Girls Initiative (Kgi) aimed at supporting young vulnerable girls to access reusable sanitary towels.

Martha Ainomugisha

I believe that as young people, we are capable of changing our communities and making them better if we are given the platform to voice our views.

Martha

Martha is currently a volunteer with Restless Development for the Development Alternative Civil Society Unleashed programme in Uganda. Martha monitors programmes and speaks to community members about what they think, using her phone and the DevelopmentCheck phone application created by Integrity Action to record improvements that could be made. then takes these suggestions back to development organisations and works with them to fix problems. Martha is passionate about youth work and achieving change in her community, working with other young people to achieve this change. 

Rebecca Andriamady

I had the opportunity to get closer to the community, bring my opinion and speak to the Mayor, the fokontany chief and to the project manager about the issues I had identified.

Randriamady

Rebecca is from the foko Malagasy Merina (the people of central Madagascar). She has always been  passionate about development and change but only when she became involved in the Development Alternative as a team leader did she realise how she could make a contribution to her community. Volunteering in this programme to track the implementation of development programmes in her community using mobile phone technology opened up the opportunity for Rebecca to speak to her Mayor and the Fokontany chief about the development challenges she was identifying, calling for more accountability from those in power.

Youni

Volunteering with Madagascar YMCA and the Development Alternative programme really helped me to gain experience and showed me that I can have an impact on the development programmes in my community.

Raveloharisoa

Youni is a 22 year young Malagasy, from a town named Moramanga in Madagascar. Volunteering with the Development Alternative provided an opportunity for Honintsoa to combine her love of socialising and community interaction with the opportunity to create a better change for her friends and the people living in her community, by calling for more accountability on different development projects that were meant to benefit them. Honintsoa learnt how to use mobile phone technology to track and record the progress of development projects, then she has been working with other volunteers to demand more accountability from development actors to meet their development promises to her community.